Mary Tobin

Creative, curious, compassionate, enthusiastic. These are just a few of the words I would use to describe Mary Tobin.

I first met Mary as a first-year student in my Introduction to Engineering course. Her enthusiasm and curiosity were infectious from the very start. As a Presidential Scholar, Mary designed affordable and seismically-resistant housing for Haiti. I watched her delve deeply into seismic design to learn all that she needed to know to implement her project. For her capstone project in engineering, Mary worked with a group of students to design alternative heating solutions for Dartmouth. Her group’s recommendations will help Dartmouth become more sustainable and reduce emissions and will have an impact on Dartmouth for many years to come.

Mary was instrumental in developing a new off-campus program in Berlin, Germany that will blend engineering with the study of German language. Mary noticed that many engineering students had a desire to study abroad but could not due to engineering requirements – so she connected the two departments. The initiative she took was critical in the success of this collaboration, and while she will not benefit from the program herself, future Dartmouth students will.

And she balanced all of this as a student-athlete on the Dartmouth Women’s Rugby team, which she joined as a walk-on in the fall of her first year.

With this sort of passion and drive, I am confident that Mary will continue to help make the world a better place. Congratulations, Mary!